


Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

by nolimepercipere



Series: Songs of Innocence [3]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Daddy Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Gen, Little Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28943085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nolimepercipere/pseuds/nolimepercipere
Summary: They swing in the air, seemingly in ecstasy, the wind carrying the trilling sound of their shared laughs all the way to their table.Nicolas looks fascinated by the scene.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Songs of Innocence [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101896
Comments: 6
Kudos: 72





	Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

**Author's Note:**

> Finally something that’s ~~mostly~~ angst free. As usual, thank you for all the comments, bookmarks and kudos. When I wrote the first story I honestly expected only a couple of people at most would read it, so I’m blown away by your support ♥
> 
> The title comes from Stevenson’s poem [The Swing](https://poets.org/poem/swing).
> 
> As usual, I apologize for any mistakes as this was not beta’d and English is not my first language.
> 
> (Translations and notes in the End Notes)

The sun is shining brightly on them as they walk along the colorful flowerbeds. Joseph himself has been in high spirits since this morning when he had convinced Nicolas to skip his lessons at Hôtel-Dieu for the day and nature seems more than happy to share his cheerful disposition. 

The park today is full of people as a gentle breeze from the Seine offers them some respite from the midday heat. 

They decide to stop at one of the tables of an open café and Joseph goes to fetch them something refreshing to drink, more than happy to have Nicolas get some rest. Once he’s come back he notices something has caught his beloved’s attention and following his intent gaze he sees it.

A swing. Hanging off the branches of two big chestnut trees. 

A girl is sitting on it, with a little boy on her lap. She looks too young to be the mother so a little brother or a nephew maybe. They swing in the air, seemingly in ecstasy, the wind carrying the trilling sound of their shared laughs all the way to their table. 

Nicolas looks fascinated by the scene. So much so that he hasn’t even realized Joseph is back at their table, offering him a drink. “Looks like they’re having fun”, he comments, taking his seat and smiling before gently nudging Nicolas’ shoulder with his own. 

Nicolas turns to him, surprised, as if jolting awake. He recovers quickly and gives Joseph one of his quiet smiles and accepts the proffered drink, “I guess so”.

A new, trilling burst of laughter catches Joseph’s attention, leading it back to the little kids having fun with the swing. 

He gets an idea.

* * *

Joseph’s idea requires planning and time. For once the extra hours Nicolas often chooses to spend helping out at the crowded hospital offer a welcome distraction.

Acquiring the materials is easy enough, Joseph is mostly worried about the safety of the contraption and its structural stability. 

He makes sure to choose a sturdy tree from their back garden, one that’s also tall enough. He practices all his knots to make sure none of them will cause him regret later on. Finally, when everything is assembled, he sits on the thing to test it. 

He closes his eyes bracing himself, half expecting the whole branch to come down on his head, but it works.

Their garden has a swing now!

Sure, it’s a bit… rustic looking, but it’s the right height and it holds his weight. Joseph counts it as a success.

When Nicolas finally comes home that evening, Joseph has to rein in his eagerness to show him the finished product. He will wait till after dinner.

Apparently he’s not that good at concealing his enthusiasm though. They have barely cleared the table when Nicolas addresses him with affectionate amusement, “My love, you look as if a swarm of bees has taken up residence under your skin. Is there something you want to tell me?”.

“I have something to show you”, he confesses with a smile and then playfully adds, “Hopefully it will be more welcome than a host of bees”.

He can see his own smile mirrored in Nicolas’ beautiful eyes, “Show me then”.

That's all he needs to hear. He grabs his beloved's hand and leads him to the small garden at the back of their house.

Once they are close to the tree, he stops and points ahead with a flourish of his free arm, “Et voilà!”.

For long seconds the only reply to his enthusiastic introduction is the soothing sound of the cicadas singing in the night. Joseph curses himself for forgetting to bring a lamp, maybe Nicolas can’t even see what he’s pointing at.

“Is that a...”, finally the silence is broken. Although this is not exactly the warm response he was expecting.

Joseph can’t help the defensive tone tingeing his voice, “I saw you watching those kids the other day...”

Nicolas looks at him flustered and a bit lost, “But Yus- Joseph, I'm okay now, I don't need-”

Joseph lets out a small sigh, this is not at all how he had envisioned this going. “Things don’t have to be bad for you to-”, he pauses, he knows he’s getting frustrated fast and that won't do, but he needs to make things clear “Nicolò, love, you are allowed to just let go and enjoy yourself”. Immediately he regrets pushing as he sees Nicolas getting increasingly anxious. 

He takes both his hands in his own and tries to catch his eyes, “Habibi, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I built this because it looked fun”, he gives him what hopefully comes out as a reassuring smile, “You can use it and I can use it and if you wanted to take some days just to be… soft and enjoy yourself, I-... you don’t have to wait for things to get so bad you almost explode!”, he pleads with him.

Nicolas won’t meet his eyes and so they go to bed and one day goes by. 

Then two, then three and they don’t talk about it. The swing stays untouched and things go back to how they were. 

Joseph sits on it from time to time, trying to enjoy its lazy swaying. Maybe he’s made a mistake, he should have asked Nicolas before he went ahead with his harebrained idea. He shouldn’t have pushed him so much. 

* * *

Warm sunlight peeks through the curtains landing softly on Joseph’s face. Half-asleep, he moves his arms around reaching for the comforting warmth of his Nicolas. His arms sweep up and down the side of the bed where he expects his beloved to be sleeping only to find it cold and empty. 

It’s not a particularly unusual occurrence. Nicolas is definitely the early riser between the two of them and, to be honest, sometimes Joseph doesn’t mind waking up like this. It usually leads to Nicolas having to come wake him up properly later on, he thinks with a grin. But the house is eerily quiet so he pushes himself to sit upright and blinks the sleep off his eyes, stretching and making his shoulders pop. 

He strains his ears for the low sizzle of breakfast being cooked or maybe to catch the sound of Nicolas getting ready to leave for his lessons, but he hears nothing and blinking blearily he remembers today is a Sunday and there are no lessons on Sundays. 

Finally awake, he slips out of bed and hastily pulls on his banyan to go look for Nicolas. 

Once downstairs he spots him standing in the garden, facing the swing meters apart regarding it with the same wariness reserved to wild animals. 

He’s about to call out to him in greeting when he takes a proper look at the scene in front of him.

Nicolas is only wearing his nightshirt and he has it on backwards. His bare toes are rhythmically curling ever so slightly on the grass. He’s also worrying at his lips with his teeth and, if all that wasn’t already a dead give-away, he’s also clutching Aquilante in one hand. 

Joseph closes his eyes as he feels a stab of guilt pierce through his heart. He must have woken up feeling like this. Who knows how long his love has been standing here alone while Joseph slumbered the morning away.

He lets out a quiet sigh, he needs to make this right.

“Good morning, little lamb, I didn't know you were awake”, he doesn’t get much of a reaction, so he tries again, “I see you’ve found the swing. Would you like to give it a try?”.

Nicolas squeezes Aquilante and gives him a sideway glance before turning his attention to the swing once again.

* * *

Nicolò is gazing at the swing, frowning pensively, trying to remember if he’s ever been on one. He hasn’t been able to get rid of the thought since the other day in the park. 

He’s not sure he has, but he doesn’t think so. 

Maybe the children of Tabia had a swing somewhere in town. What’s sure is that the brothers of Canneto never let him wander too far to play.

Baba looked really proud when he first showed the swing to him the other day and he looks really excited and hopeful now too. 

Nicolò thinks it would be nice to try it, but he’s not too sure it is going to work.

He doesn’t mean to be bad or ungrateful, but he knows his body is big – _too big!_ says a voice deep in his mind – and what if the swing can’t hold him? What if he breaks it? He would ruin all the work baba must have put into it. 

He glances at baba nervously and slips his thumb in his mouth, suckling at it to help quiet the noise in his mind. Aquilante tapping a calming beat on his thigh. 

Baba just keeps smiling at him, “Go on, sweetheart, you can if you want to”.

Nicolò is still very scared he will ruin everything, but he doesn’t want to disappoint baba either so he turns and hands Aquilante out, “keep safe?”. He really shouldn’t talk with his thumb in his mouth, but it helps him stay calm and baba has never got angry at him for it.

“Of course I will, sweetheart. Here, I’ll hold him”, he takes Aquilante and carefully holds him in the palm of his hand.

Nicolò walks to the swing and sits down tentatively, the wooden plank looks sturdy enough and in fact it only rocks a little under his weight. Nothing ominous happens, not even a creak. He holds the twin ropes at his sides real tight and takes his feet off the ground, just a couple of inches. Again, nothing happens. Neither the swing nor the branch come down on his head. 

He's not ruined this yet. 

He looks up at baba – excitement slowly starting to drown out his many concerns – and he’s looking down at him reassuringly and proud. It makes Nicolò blush. He likes having baba’s attention on him and when baba is a lot taller than him. It makes him feel loved and special.

Now that he knows the swing is not going to come down simply by sitting on it he tries to remember what he’d seen the kids in the park do to move it. He pushes his feet against the ground and it sways a little. But it’s not right. He looks up at baba, equal measure nervous and frustrated, he’s not good at this. 

“Go on, habibi”, baba says and it makes Nicolò even more nervous. He's not sure what he’s supposed to do. The other children made it look so easy. He doesn’t want baba to think he’s stupid. 

“Do you want baba to push you, little lamb?”. He looks up at the offer and baba doesn’t look angry or annoyed. He's smiling down at Nicolò. He’s always smiling at Nicolò. It makes his tummy feel all warm and tangled. But in a nice way.

He realizes baba is still waiting for an answer so he nods shily.

Baba gently puts Aquilante down on the ground and walks to the swing settling behind Nicolò and then all of a sudden he feels his warm hands pushing him forward. 

Nicolò isn’t ready yet so his feet end up dragging through the grass. He blushes bright and feels his heart sink, “Sorry baba”. He's really bad at this. Soon even baba will see it and get bored. He really wants to suck his thumb again, but then he would have to let one of the ropes go and he doesn’t think you’re supposed to do that when you’re on a swing. He grasps the ropes tighter instead.

“It’s okay, let’s try again, this time I will count down to it ok tesoro?”

As promised, baba counts down with a big voice from three to one and then Nicolò feels another big push on his back. This time he’s ready and so he kicks up his legs, swings forth and comes back. After a couple more pushes baba tells him to kick out his legs when he’s going forward which makes him go so high up it’s almost scary.

Baba’s laughing behind him. It’s a really happy laugh, one of Nicolò’s favorites. Baba should always laugh. His eyes go all crinkly when he does and Nicolò thinks it suits him. 

He feels the air whistling past his ears and he closes his eyes. He is weightless and exhilarated and so utterly happy. This must be what birds feel like when they fly. Of course birds don’t really need to be pushed in the air by someone else. But he likes this version of flying. Baba’s with him and won’t let him fall. It would be scary otherwise, flying alone.

Baba seems to be having a lot of fun too. Nicolò can’t turn and look behind but he’s not stopped laughing one moment. Nicolò joins him, loud and joyful, letting out laughs of his own. He really likes the swing. He thinks the only way it would be better is if the seat was big enough to hold both him and baba at the same time. 

He doesn’t know how long it lasts only that at some point baba lets the swing come gently to a stop. Nicolò’s head feels a little dizzy so he closes his eyes for a few seconds. When he opens them again he finds baba standing in front of him.

“Look at you, little lamb, your hair is a mess”, with a smile he brings his hands to Nicolò’s head trying to smooth it down. 

“Was I like a bird baba?”, his cheeks feel hot and hurty. But the good kind. The one that means he stretched them too much smiling. 

One of baba’s hands comes down to poke at Nicolò’s cheek, “Sure, sweetheart, the most adorable little bird I’ve ever seen”.

He swats at the offending finger while blushing, “Not adorable, baba, fierce!”. He’s happy baba thinks of him that way, but adorable is useless, he needs to be fierce and strong.

“Of course, the fiercest bird there is. Like the falcons we saw that time in the _Genoardo_ , remember?”, he ruffles Nicolò’s hair ruining all his previous work.

Nicolò nods in agreement, he remembers the falcons they saw and it’s a good choice, as expected of his baba! He’s sure the falcon is very good at protecting his family. If Nicolò were a falcon then he could protect his family as well. He could protect baba from everything so that he can always smile and not worry about anything.

Baba pulls him out of his musings guiding him up from the swing seat, “Let’s go, habibi, it’s time we put something in your belly. How do you feel about a nice, warm bowl of worms?”.

Nicolò recoils at the thought. “Babaaa”, he whines really hoping this is just one of his baba’s many silly jokes.

“What? I thought you were a bird, _passerotto_. Isn’t that what birds eat?”

He hadn't thought about that… cautiously he throws a sideway glance at baba, “...maybe today I can be a boy”, he tries to compromise.

“I see”, baba raises one hand to scratch his beard in thought, “Just today?”.

Baba doesn’t sound too excited about Nicolò’s plans of becoming a fierce bird. “Some days” he concedes, hoping it will make baba happy.

That seems to do the trick as baba turns one of his bright smiles to Nicolò, “Good! I would be terribly sad if my little boy were to turn into a bird and fly away one day”.

At those words Nicolò grinds to a halt, turns around and hooks his chin on his baba’s shoulder, hugging him tight, “Never!”. 

He would never leave baba. Never. Not even if it meant he could fly.

He feels baba’s arms come around him and his lips pressing on the back of his nape, “I was just joking, sweetheart”.

Nicolò hugs him tighter and can’t help thinking this wasn’t a very good joke. He must have said that part aloud because baba lets out a small laugh and tells him he’s right. 

Next thing he knows, he feels baba taking hold of his hips and lifting him up. Clinging tight to baba’s shoulders he automatically shifts his legs so he can wrap them around his waist as he starts walking, “Come now, let’s get you home and fed, _piccolo mio_ ”.

It’s so nice to be carried like this. Nicolò nuzzles his nose to baba’s neck so that all he can feel and see and smell is his baba. 

He hums lowly before whispering directly to his ear, “Thank you for the swing, baba, I love you”.

He feels baba’s grip tighten soothingly around him, “Anything for you, little lamb”.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Hôtel-Dieu:_ the oldest hospital in Paris. At the end of the 18th century it was the location of an educational program for surgical training led by Pierre-Joseph Desault  
>  _Genoardo:_ The name comes from the Arabic Jannat al-arḍ, meaning 'Earthly Paradise'. It was a park built outside of Palermo. with an incredible variety of flora and fauna. You can read more about it [here](http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art388.htm)  
>  _passerotto:_ literally “sparrow chick”, but it’s also used as a term of endearment for children  
>  _piccolo mio:_ “my little one”
> 
> Hopefully the switch between the names wasn’t confusing. I went with Joseph and Nicolas since this is set in 18th century France, but decided to keep Nicolò throughout the scenes where little!Nicky is thinking about himself, because it would have felt strange otherwise. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and once again I hope you enjoyed the story!  
> Feel free to ask questions or leave prompts if you want (either here in the comments or on [tumblr](https://thoualamb.tumblr.com)) ♥


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